Cohen concedes to Oppenheimer (update)

GOP state Senate candidate Bob Cohen congratulated Suzi Oppenheimer in the race for the 37th SD, finally establishing the 32-30 Republican majority of the 2011 chamber. His statement:

In one of the closest State Senate races in New York this year, State Senate candidate Bob Cohen (R-C-I) today congratulated incumbent Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D-WFP) on winning a 14th term. The race for the 37th State Senate district in Westchester, which featured Mr. Cohen, a businessman and first-time candidate for public office, against long-time incumbent Senator Oppenheimer – Ms. Oppenheimer has represented the district in the State Senate since 1984 – had been too close to call since Election Day.

Mr. Cohen, who trails Senator Oppenheimer by approximately 600 votes, chose not to pursue a hand recount of the ballots, which would have been an expensive undertaking for taxpayers.

“I offer my sincere congratulations to Senator Oppenheimer on a hard-won victory,” Mr. Cohen said. “I am also enormously grateful to all my supporters in this race, including The New York Times, The New York Post, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, County Executive Rob Astorino, and so many others. Some supporters have urged me to press for a hand recount of the ballots because of voting irregularities, but I ran to stick up for Westchester taxpayers and I cannot ask them to pay that bill.”

Mr. Cohen, a community activist and volunteer firefighter, said he would remain active and visible in Westchester civic life.

“This race has only hardened my resolve to work for fiscal responsibility and tax relief in New York State,” Mr. Cohen continued. “I learned an enormous amount about public policy in this contest, but more importantly, I learned how prohibitively high taxes are squeezing Westchester families and inhibiting business development and job growth. I am hopeful that Senator Oppenheimer will better serve and appreciate her constituents as a result of this hard-fought election.”

Update: Here’s the response from Senate GOP leader Dean Skelos:

Today, Bob Cohen put the residents of the 37th Senate District first by making the difficult decision to concede his close race with Senator Oppenheimer. Even though Bob Cohen didn’t win, he should be commended for running a first-class campaign that highlighted the issues Westchester County families are concerned about, especially the need to provide families with relief from high property taxes and create good jobs for workers who need them. I congratulate Senator Oppenheimer on securing reelection, and am hopeful we can work together on those and other issues.

Bob Cohen came within a breath of winning this Senate seat, a huge achievement in a Democrat-dominated district. He should be proud of his efforts to improve the quality-of-life in Westchester County, and I look forward to him continuing to make his voice heard.